TECHNOLOGY

You'd be surprised at what Mark Bugher, the retiring director of the University Research Park, tells state lawmakers when they ask what they can do to help. Bugher doesn't cite any big spending programs or new construction projects to help the UW commercialize its huge research program for the benefit of the Wisconsin economy. >More

For most of us, smartphones make life more convenient and fun. We route trips, game, buy things and share ideas on the go. But for blind users, smartphones can be survival tools. An app or web page that's not accessible is more than an annoyance " it disconnects and disorients. Kevin Jones is one such user. >More

The group golf outing: the networking habitué's summertime habitat. A chance to swing clubs, sip cocktails, bolster professional ties and maybe even fundraise. Madison Magnet is one community organization that hosts "an afternoon of golf, networking and fun" each year in Madison. >More

What's a Vine? It's a six-second video that lives mostly in the world of mobile devices like iPhones. Download and open the free app, touch the screen to start recording a video " a cat stretching in a sunbeam, a friend dunking a basketball, a stupendous steel drummer " then publish with a push of a button. >More

The rise of coworking spaces downtown is solid evidence of Madison's growing tech scene. I wrote about the phenomenon this winter. Now, two more downtown spots are offering the low-cost shared space for techies who want to leave their coffee-shop offices. >More

The always-upbeat entrepreneur Toni Sikes was even more buoyant than usual when I caught up with her driving back to Madison from a Minneapolis board meeting. The cause of her good cheer wasn't just that her latest startup, the Art Commission, has raised $950,000 in venture capital; it was that the business model had already morphed into something bigger. >More

Kelda Helen Roys proves there is life after the Legislature. The former two-term state representative from Madison's north side and its suburban neighbors has thrown herself into a web startup rather than following the usual arc of ex-pols. You know, cashing in on old connections through lobbying and other backstage wheedling. >More

If a paperback on your summer reading list was published anonymously, you'd probably notice. But if this article lacked a byline, or tonight's episode of Wilfred didn't credit a writer, you might not bat an eyelash. Mark Vareschi, assistant professor of English at UW-Madison, wants to know why, and also how anonymous publication affects the way we interpret published or performed works. To help him get closer to the answers, he turned to computers. >More